Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Published by HarperTeen on February 10, 2015
Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages 383

This is a world divided by blood - red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.

I was promised prejudice, romance, and science-fiction like abilities in a new and devastating world along with a hell of a plot twist and betrayal.

"Anyone can betray anyone."

For a author's debut, the summary for this book was promising, although a little repetitive in general trends, and while it was good - it was also a bit underwhelming but not completely lacking in execution. 

While the story was interesting, for sure - silver and red bloods fighting on war fields and within their own cities and homes - the suspense and thrills I expected were not really there and the shocking twist was apparent to me long before the reveal. The suspense that was meant to come with aiding a rebellion was not as intense as it cold be but the action left me wanting more. Despite these few action scenes the book was light and tedious at times and I found myself skimming or just completely walking away for a day or two (or, um, four). However, because this is a debut novel, I am hoping the second and third installments will be a bit more fast paced; I believe this book in its entirety seemed almost like an opening for a bigger story line. If Aveyard finds her flow and utilizes more detail to build a better world and develop the characters a bit more this is a series that could truly flourish. 

Red Queen wasn't a bad read, and I somewhat lose myself within it, however it did not capture my attention as much as other things I have read. The characters do not have the depth I would like and I would most definitely love to see Mare become a bit stronger. She was a bit too doe-eyed, naive, and trusting considering what her background was meant to be and this is when characters were making it quite apparent what was happening. 

Overall, Red Queen is not a stellar or standout work and comes in at a 2 out of 5. I understand how people could love it, but I couldn't immerse myself enough to wholeheartedly love it. It was a bit dull and generic. Reminding me of a blend of X-Men and The Hunger Games with a very, very minuscule bit of royal politics. The lack of details and character development made it somewhat apparent to me that Aveyard has more experience writing screenplays because the depth, creativity and imagination was just not quite there. The lack of details left an open ended feeling to the work, much like plays and screenplays I have read before.